If you could change one thing, what would you change?

We believe college is a time to work on projects to address issues you're passionate about, whether that's health, education, social justice, poverty, environmental sustainability, or anything else you care about.

We are a student-led organization at the University of Michigan that offers workshops, mentorship, and funding for students to create self-directed projects that make a positive impact.

Our primary program is the optiMize Challenge. It's an incubator for students to develop their projects.Projects can receive up to $20,000 — we awarded a total of $300,000 to 36 projects in 2019.

You can join the Challenge with a project you're working on, an idea you have, or just a problem you want to solve. And everyone is welcome. Whether you have lots of prior experience or none at all, our supportive community will help you take your next steps.

Want to learn more? Talk with an optiMize leader today:

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We support projects that illuminate possibilities.

We've incubated hundreds of student-led projects over six cohorts since 2013. 80 of them were funded with up to $20,000 to become optiMize Fellows. Learn more about how our optiMize Fellows are making an impact.

Our community is made up of students just like you! From first year students to PhD students, we all support each other as we develop our own self-directed social impact projects. And we get lots of help from our great mentors.